Adjustable keeper for a closure fastener



Aug. 21, 1956 Q PAYOR 2,759,753

ADJUSTABLE KEEPER FOR A CLOSURE FASTENER Filed May 27, 1955 lIIIlIIIlll/llllllllll INVENTOR OSCAR PAYOR.

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I ATTORNEY United States Patent ADJUSTABLE KEEPER FOR A CLOSURE FASTENER Oscar Payor, New York, N. Y. Application May 27, 1953, Serial No. 357,837 Claims priority, application Germany July 19, 1952 Claims. (Cl. 292--341.18)

The present invention relates to keepers of flap fastening means or closure fasteners for fastening, in coaction with a lock, the flap of a container fitted with a closure flap to the main body of the container. The term container is used herein in a broad sense in that it is intended to refer to a great variety of containers such as brief cases, dispatch cases, jewelry cases, traveling bags, suit cases, etc., preferably made of leather, fiber board, plastic or any other suitable material.

With containers of the general type above referred to, the need frequently arises to expand the space available within the container from a minimum space to an enlarged space to accommodate the greatest possible quantity of goods within the container. For instance, with brief cases, keepers are desirable permitting a displacement of the position of attachment of the flap relative to the top edge of the front wall of the case depending upon the quantity of papers or files placed in the case.

There are already known keepers which permit a displacement of the point of attachment of the flap vertically to said top edge of the respective wall of the container. However, the adjustable keepers as hitherto known are difficult to manipulate. They frequently require the use of both hands which is particularly inconvenient when, as is often the case, the container is fitted with two or more locks and keepers.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved keeper which permits a convenient vertical displacement of the point of attachment of the flap and which can be easily manipulated with one hand. This has the advantage that there is no difiiculty to place the two or more closure fasteners on the container in the same level position.

Another object of the invention isto provide a novel and improved keeper which is conveniently adjustable between a position affording a minimum space in the container and a position affording a maximum space.

A more specific object of the invention, associated with the preceding one, is to provide an arrangement permitting adjustment of the keeper by a simple rotation of the said keeper and yieldably retaining the keeper in the selected one of the aforesaid two positions.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter and set forth in the appended claims forming part of the application.

In the accompanying drawing a now preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by Way of limitation.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a keeper according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale.

Referring now to the figures in detail, the exemplified keeper according to the invention should be visualized as being fastened to the front wall of a container such as a brief case. It coacts with a lock 11 shown in phantom which should be visualized as being secured to the flap of the brief case or the container. The lock proper does not constitute part of the present invention so that a detailed description thereof is not essential for the understanding of the invention. It suflices to state that the lock may comprise a movable shoulder 12 engageable with a corresponding component of the keeper which will be more fully explained hereinafter, in one position and to be disengaged therefrom in another position. The lock may be equipped for locking the movable shoulderin its position of engagement by means of a key, a key hole for which is indicated in phatom. While it is generally pref erable that the keeper is attached to the casing and the lock to the flap, the reversed arrangement is also possible within the scope of the invention.

The keeper comprises a cover plate 13 with depending flanges 14 between which is fitted a plate 15 which is held in position by a second plate 16 which in turn is held in position by ears 17 extending from flanges 14 and bent over plate 16. For purpose of securing the keeper to the front wall of the case, several prongs 18 are punched out from plate 16. These prongs 18 are extended through corresponding slots in the material of the case and then bent down upon the material. Plates 13, 15 and 16 may be generally defined as the base plate of the keeper. The base plate is provided with a circular recess which is formed in the exemplification of the invention by providing in cover plate 13 a circular opening 19 so that the intermediate plate 15 forms the base of the recess. It is of course also possible to combine plates 13 and 15 in which case the recess is formed directly in the cover plate. The opening 19 serves to receive a support plate 20 which is shown as a circular plate having depending flanges resting upon plate 15 but may also take any other suitable shape. Support plate 20 is rotatably mounted by means of a pivot pin 21 preferably formed with a head portion 22 fitted in a corresponding recessed portion 23 of plate 20. Plate 20 supports fixedly secured thereto a bridge or loop member 24 which constitutes the aforementioned locking component with which lock 11 coacts.

As can best be seen on Fig. 1, a rotation of support plate 20 through an angle of permits placement of bridge 24 either in the position shown in full lines or in the position shown in dotted lines. In the full line position the bridge is closest to the fiap and in the dotted line position it is in its position most remote therefrom. In other words, the full line position represents the position of maximum expansion of the brief case and the dotted line position represents the minimum expansion of the brief case. Consequently, by a simple rotation of the support plate and hence of the bridge the brief case or other container can be adjusted for either maximum expansion or minimum expansion.

In order to assure that the bridge can be conveniently placed in either one of its limit positions, yieldable retaining means are provided. These retaining means are shown as two locking pins 30 and 31 engageable with corresponding holes 32 and 33 in cover plate 20. The two pins are supported on the free ends of a leafspring 34 which is riveted at its midpoint to pivot pin 21 forming a rivet 35 for this purpose. The leafspring is shown as abutting against the intermediate plate 15, plate 16 being provided with a slot 36 for this purpose. Pins 30 and 31 are slidably extended to corresponding openings in plate 15.

As appears from the previous description, pins 30 and 31, being yieldably supported, permit a free rotation of support plate 20 and with it of bridge 24 but will retain the support plate when in engagement with holes 32 and 33. These two holes are so positioned that the bridge is yieldably retained when it occupies either its full line or its dotted line position. While two locking pins and two coacting holes are shown-which is generally the prefer- 3 able arrangement-it is also possible to provide two holes but one locking pin only or more than two holes and two locking pins.

To protect the outer surface of cover plate 20, which is the surface coming in contact with the lock, against scratches or other unsightly deformations by the lock, protective ribs may be provided, two ribs 40 and 41 being shown. These ribs also serve to stiffen the cover plate. Similar ribs 40' and 41 are preferably provided on the support plate 20.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a certain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable keeper adapted for use with a fastening mechanism on a container, said keeper comprising a base plate attachable to a wall portion of said container, a support plate superimposed upon said base plate and mounted rotatable about an axis transversely of the plane of the base plate, a bridge member coacting with said fastening mechanism eccentrically secured to said support plate for rotation in unison therewith whereby a rotation of said support plate varies the spatial position of the bridge member relative to the outline of the base plate, and retaining means coacting with said base plate and said support plate for releasably retaining the latter in a selected one of several predetermined rotational positions.

2. An adjustable keeper adapted for use with a fastening mechanism on a container, said keeper comprising a base plate attachable to a wall portion of said container, a support plate rotatably mounted on said base plate in superimposed relationship, a bridge member eccentrically secured to said support plate for rotation in unison therewith, and retaining means on the base plate and the support plate coacting with each other for yieldably retaining the support plate and with it the bridge member in either one of two positions diametrically opposite in relation to the center of rotation of the support plate, said two positions constituting an upper and lower position respectively, for coaction of the keeper with said fastening mechanism.

3. A keeper according to claim 2, wherein the said retaining means comprise a movable spring-tensioned locking pin in one of the said plates and two holes in the other of the said plates, a respective one of said holes being engageable by the pin in either one of said two positions thereby retaining the bridge member in the respective position.

4. An adjustable keeper adapted for use with a fastening mechanism of a container, said keeper comprising a base plate attachable to a wall portion of the container, a support plate, a pivot pin rotatably supporting the support plate on the base plate in superimposition therewith, a bridge member eccentrically secured to said support plate for rotation in unison therewith, and retaining means for yieldably retaining the support plate and with it the bridge member in either one of two positions diametrically opposite to the center of rotation of the support plate, the said retaining means including a leaf-spring fixedly secured at its midpoint to said base plate and two locking pins protruding from the opposite free ends of said leafspring, the said support plate having two holes therethrough disposed diametrically opposite to the center of rotation of the support plate and the said leaf-spring biasing said two pins thereon toward engagement with said holes.

5. A fastening keeping acocrding to claim 4, wherein the said base plate is circularly recessed and the said support plate is in form of a circular disk rotatably fitted in said recess, and wherein the said leaf-spring is disposed on the base plate opposite to the recessed part thereof, the said pivot also forming a rivet for securing the leaf-spring to the base plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 381,740 Wollensak Apr. 24, 1888 446,173 Hancock Feb. 10, 1891 1,473,080 Collins Nov. 6, 1923 1,732,408 Lewis et al. Oct. 22, 1929 2,520,742 Soref et al Aug. 29, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 690,885 Germany May 10, 1940 

